International schools

Hi Flipstar,

Welcome to Expat.com!

I wish you good luck in your search.
Christine

Be sure to check out the current situation with student visas at any proposed school. Recently the Jakarta administration stopped issuing student visas to foreign students under 17. As most International schools will only enrol students with a valid visa, this has made it difficult for some families. Some have even decided to leave Bali because of this new policy.

Note also that the authorities have cracked down on the number of non-Indonesian staff permitted to work in each International school, which potentially has an effect on staff quality. It would be wise to check the qualifications (and their standard!) of staff rostered in specific subject areas at your chosen school.

Thankyou so much for your advise.  Any advise is warrented at the moment.  I definately will look into the visa situation as that could cause some major problems.  My daughter will be 5 by the time we get there.  Do you know of any schools around the Jimbaran Bay area at all?  Looking fwd to hearing back from you and thanks again

Hi Flipstar,
It would appear you did not get get any answer to the Q.Jimbaran Intl. School.
Yes there is such a School in Jimbaran!
I will go there today and get some info for you
Howard

thanks Howard that would be awesome.  Really appreciate the help
felicity

Hi Flipstar,
Have today been under the pump, But I am hoping to surface by Saturday to do the research for you. However my beautiful wife (Yuli) tells me there are in fact 3 suitable schools in Jimbaran !I will put it to-gather for you so sorry to let you down to-day. Write in the weekend
Howard

Hi Fipstar,
Went to a couple of Schools to-day not with the greatest results however.

The first, most recommended for the tender age of 5 Is The Palangi International school in Jimbaran(Be careful in your research as they also have one in Ubud, not to confuse!)

It would appear they are on holidays at the moment.so I don't have a website,or e-mail address Sorry. Their Fax number is 62 361 8479872 Sorry I do not have FAX.So can you please send a request for info,to this number? and let me know the outcome yeh?

The second is "Garuda Bilingual Schools Jimbaran
Email;  garudabs@hotmail.com

Our best wishes,
Howard & Yuli

Hi Howard and Yuli, thankyou so much for checking this out for me. Yes I've been on the internet about the Pelangi school in Jimbaran and the one in Ubud.  NOt a great deal of info on the web on the schools.  All good. It's great having the help on this site.  Will Keep researching.  STill waiting to see whats happening with my parnters work etc, but you need to be organised doing these sorts of things before the move.  Love to keep in touch.  How long have you been there?  Still loving it by the sounds of it..
felicity

Hello,
We are a french canadian family who is living in Quebec city,Canada.  Province of Quebec is mostly french speaking surrounded by 400 000 millions english people(North America).  So we've decided to give a chance to our children to learn english in a totally english speaking surrrounding. We're gonna move to Bali in January 2013 for 6-8 month for this project. I checked out on the web about international primary schools. Someones are interesting and affordables and others really too much expensives.  Did someone have or heard experience with Canggu school, Sanur Independant School, AISB, BIS and Green School? Wich school do you recommand for our children (grade 2 and 4)?
Alain

Hello Neosgeo,

All the schools you mentioned in your question are fine schools, it all depends on what you are looking for. AIS is an Australian school based in Jakarta. It has high academic achievements, and a friendly campus. Though I don't know much about Canggu it seems more to be for the children of the more well off, and it is a for profit school. It's important to know that there are different emphasis between for profit and not for profit schools. If the school is a yayasan it is a not for profit. The Green School is further away from the population centers of south Bali, but in a beautiful setting. They emphasize  an environmental approach to education, and their school campus reflects that. I believe they follow the Cambridge system, which is an international curriculum from England. BIS is a very expensive school, but they follow the IB programme, which has a great appeal to many. Sanur Independent School is a small school with a big heart. It has a very family feel about it, and many people like it for that reason. They follow the Australian Curriculum like AIS, with other international components as well. However, they operate on a northern hemisphere year, not the Australian school year which begins in January.  Be aware that the Indonesian government is putting severe restrictions on the recruitment of quality foreign teachers in the hope that it will end up employing more local teachers. Unfortunately many good teachers are having to look for work elsewhere now because they do not fit the narrow requirements set forth by the government. Good old Indonesia, always shooting itself in the foot! Anyway, this will impact the quality of education in international schools in the long term. There's no guarantee that your child will have an expat teacher fluent in native English. Many Indonesians learn English, but are learning it from other Indonesians who are not native speakers and often don't even speak the language as they are just teaching it out of a textbook. So as you can imagine the quality of English learning is going to nosedive as these restrictions tighten.
Good luck with your move to Bali. I believe you will be happy with any school you choose regarding the ones you mentioned. I suppose it will depend on where you will live on the island, and what kind of education you want your child to receive. Take care. Jake

Here are some school i know in Jimbaran:
Taman Rama Jimbaran school
Garuda Bilingual school
Pelangi school

in kuta: AIS(australian itl school)
         Cheeky monkey
         Blue Dolphin Playskool
cheeky monkey school in sanur and soon will be established in kuta
i think you better to check the standard and curriculum they use and you can find on their web maybe

good luck

i like it

Hi there,
My name is Yasmin and I am an Australian High-School Teacher who is qualified to teach Chemistry, Biology, Junior Science, Mathematics, Religion and English. I have over 5 years of teaching experience 2 of which are international. I have also tutored many students ranging from grade 3 to university, including grade 12's.
I have many resources and am also qualified to write my own curriculum of which I do in order to combine the skills and learning experiences of the world famous curriculum's including the Cambridge, Australian and Singaporean Curriculum. I teach in a very positive and student-centered manner, allowing my students to become independent, motivated and confident learners.
My CV can be Emailed if needed. my email address is yasmin_hollis44@hotmail.com

Care to share the tuition fees as well?
Searching pre-school though.

you can check them at Google site, there are so many options for best international school

Hi there...I am in the same (lucky) situation as you so I was happy to read thru the replies.  My friends who live there told me to check out 1) Taman Rama, 2) Sanur Independent School 3) Sunrise School (but whew...website is hard to navigate), and 4) Sekolah Lentera Kasih, which has a Cambridge accredited curriculum but seems a bit less expensive than some others.  We were also referred to Green School and Canggu but prices were a bit much for us as we have two children to enroll.

Good luck to you!  I will keep checking back to this thread to see what additional info emerges!

Best,
Lisa

I have 2 children, 5 year old girl and 6 year old boy both at 'Taman Rama' Puri Gading. They are both doing well, with my son reading and writing and able to do calculations. In Bali you have to help your own children and not rely on the school, same as any other country. Teachers of international quality will come and go, which means new teachers and no consistency or real community spirit as opposed to National plus where they have a strong foundation and much more disicpline for your child. National means the teaching will be in Indonesian mostly for folk who plan to stay in Bali for a long time. My children are both very happy at the school and enjoy the thought of school when they wake up in the morning, much more than I did at their age. My children did not need visas as mother is Indonesian, National is less expensive and suits our budget. Who knows what your child will become when they grow up and still live in Bali, but happiness is what counts above everything else and I see bundles of that, less so in the UK where I am from and is one good reason to make a go of it in Bali. Well good luck to everyone who is about to embark on finding a school in their respecctive areas within Bali and for those who are already at the early stage of intergration at a school they found and like. At every school parents will always complain about something, for me its price, location and suitability.  Dont forget your child must have a passion for learning and needs a home environment that is both stimulating and happy, then they will do well. There is not alot to do for children in Bali other than home activities and travelling to do somthing can turn into a boring long journey.

We have joined as a hotel member, a hotel in Kuta 'Kartika Plaza', where its a great space close to shops and activities within the hotel. Have been a member since the children could walk and they still love the place at weekends and during long holidays. I can also work on the computer there while the kids do their own thing and then go off to 'Centro' shopping centre for food, DVD's and anything we need.

Let me know if you find activities for kids without getting stuck in traffic. From Ungasan to Kuta, I can do in 25 minutes leaving at 8am. I know many short cuts and dont do the congested Uluwatu Rd, I have found secret bumby roads that help with journey time. If you live local to me, then get intouch.

Andy